Day 27
To the Beach!!!

We started the day with an early breakfast so we could get on the road as soon as it got daylight.  We handicapped the faster riders to load a bit after the "normal" people so we could get everyone to our rendezvous point near the same time.  Lots to do today for the fitting finale of our journey.  With the banquet at 6:00 and the fact we needed to get all those bikes taken care of before dinner, we needed all the time to get to Savannah we could get.  Our plan worked to perfection as it was late in the day before the normal order of riders on the road transpired and by the time that it did, we were pretty much grouped closely together.

Our luck has just been fantastic.  We experienced another sunny, light wind day to Savannah.  All in all it was a perfect finishing day for a long ride across the country.  In spite of being bone weary, nothing seemed to bother them today as they powered themselves into the final miles eastward to the sweet smell of Vidalia Onions being harvested in the early morning. 

Our route today took us on more highways than usual.  As we get closer to our destination, fewer and fewer back roads are available, but the traffic was generally light and we were not to be denied our journey's destination.  Our arrival into the Savannah area took us down 52nd street, a marked bike route that skirted old residential areas with Spanish Moss laden live oaks growing in the middle of the roadway.  That's right, there were several huge trees that took up almost half the street and stood majestically as they have for hundreds of years before streets or houses were even thought of in this area. 

When the riders arrived at the beach the celebration broke out with a vengeance.  Even though the beach was extremely crowded,  we made our way to the water's edge and found a pretty large area just empty...like it knew we were coming and just reserved that spot for us.  Maybe it was red tide or something, but whatever it was, we had plenty of room to do our thing without entangling ourselves with the beach crowd.  As the riders made their way to the water, they were bombarded with questions from the locals..."What's with all the bikes, Where did you all come from, When did you start, and You did what?"  Almost without exception, the beachgoers were dumfounded or in disbelief.  Many of them couldn't imagine what we'd just accomplished but all showed great respect when they finally accepted what was accomplished.  After getting to the water, several people had to be restrained from throwing their bikes into the ocean or just leaving them.  Karen assured them they would be ready to ride again in a few days so they'd better keep their bikes.  Reluctantly, they retrieved them for future use.  Others were more introspective.  Like Christopher who was just standing on the shore looking toward his homeland while taking stock in what he had just accomplished.  We weren't sure what he was thinking but it probably had something to do with: WOW!  His mood was broken when a couple of his new riding family enticed him to try to swim home.  It was a joyous celebration...they've been hammered with the heat, cold, rain, and winds; they've endured chip seal, dogs, potholes, and urban traffic...but they were all standing on the beach together...victorious!  They celebrated with the ceremonial pouring of the Pacific water into the Atlantic...ocean water they collected when they were at New Port Beach.  As all stood around in support, Sandra was given the honor of joining the waters...it's a small country when you really think about it.  Heck, we were just dipping our wheels in the Pacific a mere 26 days ago...just a bike ride to us.

After the celebration at the beach, we loaded all the bikes on the vans for transport to a bike shop for shipping home.  This works well so all the logistics are left to the shop and the riders don't have to worry about getting bikes disassembled before the banquet.  The staff coordinated all the post ride activities with aplomb...load all the bikes, get to the bike shop, unload all the equipment, unload the luggage, acquire parking, coordinate dinner, store our belongings for an early departure tomorrow, sort out the guests spare parts, and finally prepare for dinner...busy afternoon, but tomorrow they can rest.